Jailbreak

Jailbreak is the process of breaking the root jail of your iPhone or iPad so that you can modify the operating system and install apps outside of Apple's security policies and the App Store. It allows you to tweak things like themes, modify the way existing features work, and add new feature Apple doesn't provide.

Since, in order to jailbreak, exploits need to be discovered that allow access to the iOS system, it's not easy to do and Apple typically patches them in short order, meaning new exploits need to be found all the time.

While jailbreaking does open your iPhone or iPad up to possible security threats, it's best to view it as an "expert mode" of sorts — you deliberately remove some of the protections Apple has in place because you want to do things beyond what those protections allow. It also means you take responsibility for your own device, including checking to make sure extensions and apps you download come from safe sources like Cydia, the jailbreak App Store.

All Jailbreak

We've rolled through this week and now we're heading on into the weekend, we're gathering up plenty of MacWorld coverage for you all so you'll want to stay tuned for that. You can register now to get started today and while you're at it, check out some of the threads below:
iPhone 4S Forum:...

Need help figuring out what the best apps and tweaks are for your newly jailbroken iPhone? Cydia can be overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Whether you're jailbreaking to theme or add more functionality, we'll have you on your way to becoming a jailbreak ninja in no time.
Quick...

TwitkaFly allows you to tweet from virtually anywhere with a quick swipe or tap on your jailbroken iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It will add a Twitter shortcut to your notification center pull down and allow you to program a quick gesture for composing straight through Activator. The interface...

Super social and incredibly integrated IntelliscreenX takes on quick content and plug-in powerhouse LockInfo in a battle of the jailbreak notification apps
Jailbroken on iOS 5 and wondering whether you should get LockInfo or IntelliscreenX? While both are utilities that aim to give you more...

Mid-week and the Apple news is rolling as we head in into Mac World. We'll be there bringing you the best Mac World has to offer, so make sure you follow along with us both here on the blogs and in the iMore Forums. You can register now to get started today and while you're at it, check out some...

Motion is a new jailbreak utility available in Cydia that makes your iPhone homescreen just a bit more interesting. While Motion may not add a ton of functionality to your device, it's a fun tweak to play around with and show off to your friends. It basically adds transitions and effects to the...

The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is asking for your help to tell the U.S. Copyright Office that jailbreaking does not violate the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and its exemption should be continued and expanded.
In 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking smartphones...

The iPhone Dev Team has shared some numbers on the Absinthe jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad. These are the downloads over the last 3 days.
491,325 new iPhone 4 devices
308,967 new iPad2 devices
152,940 previously jailbroken (at 4.x) iPad 2 devices
953,232 total
The numbers were...

We've kicked off another week here at iMore and thus far, it's been busy as always. If you missed anything from the weekend, be sure to get yourself caught up either here on the blogs or in the iMore forums. You can register now to get started today and while you're at it, check out some of the...

Did you jailbreak your iPad 3?
So the iPad 2 untethered jailbreak is now live, and just like with the iPhone, Ally has already posted -- and keeps updating -- her simply superb iPad 2 jailbreak how-to, but given that iPad jailbreaking has historically been less popular than iPhone jailbreaking, I...

Jailbreaking your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and need to know how to troubleshoot all those annoying little errors, bugs, and assorted problems that crop up along the way? Whether you're having issues getting your device to jailbreak or running into problems after you've jailbroken, we've got...

We finally got an untethered jailbreak for iPhone 4S and iPad 2 yesterday via Greenpois0n Absinthe. Until now the tool was only released for Mac users. It has now been updated with support for Windows users.
If you haven't already jailbroken your device via redsn0w CLI 0.4.3, I'd recommend using...

If you're running Windows, you can now jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 on iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1. The Dev Team has issued an update to redsn0w that adds support. This process isn't as easy as a simple one click tool like Greenpois0n Absinthe but if you absolutely can't wait any longer to...

Greenpois0n Absinthe has been updated to version 1.2.2 with bug fixes for some users that were experiencing issues. If you were having issues accessing Cydia or your jailbreak was failing, this should fix your issues. Just run it over your current jailbreak.
If you need help jailbreaking, run...

Did you jailbreak your iPhone 4S
So the iPhone 4S untethered jailbreak is now live and Ally has already posted up a magnificent iPhone 4S jailbreak how-to, so all that's left is for me to ask you if you're pulling the trigger? Are you jailbreaking your iPhone 4S?
For some it will be a no-brainer...

You can now untethered jailbreak your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 running iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1 with Greenpois0n Absinthe. It's been a long wait and we're all more than ready to have all our jailbreak extras back in action.
Whether you're new to jailbreak or a veteran, we've got you covered in our...

iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users have reason to rejoice today - you can finally untethered jailbreak! They stated earlier today the jailbreak was almost complete and ready for release. It didn't take very long as the tool is already available.
As a note - this jailbreak will support iOS 5.0 and iOS 5....

With Apple's education event not far off and an A5 jailbreak lingering, the forums have been a very busy place the past little while. If you're looking to discuss those things and more -- we've got plenty of room in the iMore forums for your voice to be heard, you can register now to get started...